ARMS iRacing League: Week 04 - Cadillac Cup @ Sonoma

League Members Top 2 (official lap times)
1. Scott McIntyre 1:34.631
2. Paul Machan 1:39.892

World Records
Prac: Carlos Reyes Aiguadé 1:30.092
Qual: Dylan Sharman 1:29.770
Race: Dylan Sharman 1:30.957



Track Guide (by Dylan Sharman)

Track Guide

Turn 1 - very simple, flat in fifth gear.

Turn 2 - you want to start braking before the bridge so once you get through turn 1 and you see the bridge youll be starting to get on the brakes for the uphill turn 2 and its a 2nd gear corner.

Turn 3 and Turn 3A - get as close to the curb for Turn 3 as you can, its a 3rd gear corner and same with Turn 3A but you can ride the curbs for Turn 3A.

Turn 4 - basically once you get over the hump in the road you spot the curbing on the left and as you get to the end of the curb you get on the brakes for Turn 4 which is a 2nd gear corner.

Turn 5 - Flat out in qualifying, but later on in the race you may want to just give it a lift to get it turned.

Turn 6 - The carousel, you want to start braking about 1/4 up the hill before you get into the carousel, then your just waiting on the car to settle to get back on the gas for the exit.

Turn 7 and 7A- heavy braking zone, 2nd gear corner. good spot for getting a pass done. For 7A your just waiting to get back on the gas to start your run down through the esses

Turn 8 and 8A - 4th gear corner, just try and flow the car through the esses.

Turn 9 - flat out, i upshift to 5th gear which you will see in the video below.

Turn 10 - really important section of the track as this can get you into a good position to make an overtake. 4th gear corner, get as close to the curbing as possible, sometimes the curbing might unsettle the car so watch out.

Turn 11 - heavy braking zone into the hair pin- go from 4th gear to 2nd gear, really easy to lock a brake so just watch out.

Turn 12 - Flat out.


Video - Lap Time is a 1:29.850

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1997 Talon TSi AWD
2008 EVO X MR

I have a feeling that this one is gonna hurt.

The crest of T2 & T3, plus the downward slope of T6, try their best to kill me each lap.

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1997 Talon TSi AWD
2008 EVO X MR

In these cars the same could be said of getting on the brakes, getting on the throttle, turning the wheel.... Great car track combo for lapping solo as each lap is an adventure.

After having done some testing...I have to say....I kinda like it.

I have next to no experience at this track, I ran a bunch of practice laps the other night and can only get down to 1:35's with consistent 1:36's.

I think Ken says it best, "Each lap is an adventure." That is for sure!

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Brian
VP, AMP
#51 Vantage Motorsports

It was nice to see some new drivers. Now if we could get everyone together at the same time we would have a good field.
The first race was one of the best races I have had in iracing. Started 2nd with Paul on the pole, but I didn't get a good start and was passed by Brian Gay before the first corner. The three of us set off at a pretty good pace and run nose to tail for a few laps. But Brian droped a wheel off at the blind corner at the top of the hill and spun, very tricky spot. That left Paul and I to battle it out. We settled in to a fairly fast pace for the rest of the race. All I could do was wait for him to make a mistake, not to be. All the while try to stay on the track myself. Two and a half seconds would be as close as I would get. Congrats to Paul for a very good drive. It was a hard and intence run, but a lot of fun. That is what Iracing is all about , a good on track battle.
The second race I got the pole and was hoping for a repeat of the first race with Paul , only reverse the order. But we only got a few feet when Paul and I came together. I might have squeezed down on him a little bit. Scott and Brian a car lenght behind us copied our start with thier own coming toegether. I never got into a rhythm until half way through the race. By then I spun off a couple of times and had to pit. Paul was long gone . Maybe I used my nights allotment of concentration and luck in the first race. All said and done I had to settle for 4th place behind Scott and Ed and lose the points led to Paul. Congrats again. Not the out come I was hoping for but it was fun just the same. Off to Mosport next week, hope for a good turn out.

Paul wasn't kidding when he said that there was something about this track which clicked with him... He stood atop the podium both races! Congrats Paul!

Click to enlarge

After deductions were applied for incidents, here's what the series Points Standings look like:

Paul jumped up another two spots and is now leading the series; displacing Weatherbee & myself down to 2nd and 3rd respectively. Gay made another spot and is not in 4th. Ed had a great debut and finished his first night in the series in 6th of the championship

Next week we got to our "local" track... Mosport!

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1997 Talon TSi AWD
2008 EVO X MR

Here's my race recap. Feel free to post your own. It's always interesting to read other people's experiences from the same race.

Race 1:

Normally I join practice as soon as it starts, but this time I was late to the party. I had just received my AP Electrix load cell brake pedal mod in the mail, so I was hastily installing it in my G25 pedals as practice was taking place. About 15 minutes prior to qualifying I finally got it install and joined in the session.

With the new load cell installed, but not yet calibrated properly, I was way off pace. My best of lap in practice was 6 seconds off my personal bet (PB). During qualifying I managed to get within 3 second of my PB, but lacked any consistency. In fact, that one lap was the only clean lap I got the whole qualifying session. It put me in P5 (out of seven).

During the opening laps of the race, I was able to capitalize on the mistakes of others and found myself in 3rd by lap 5. However, Gay was reeling me in and a mistake on lap 12 handed the position to him. In the end I finished 4th.

Race 2:

By this time I was starting to get a better feel for my new brake pedal, and managed to set a new PB during qualifying! However, it was only good enough for P3 as Paul & Weatherbee were well over a second faster.

The race start was a complete disaster as the two front rows all plowed into each other. Paul (P2) and Gay (P4) both got great launches and pulled up alongside Weatherbee (P1) and myself (P3) by turn 1. The result was two rows running two-wide through T1. As Weatherbee & I turned in to the corner (from the outside), we each hit the person on our inside and a mayhem ensued. Personally I did not know that Gay had snuck up on the inside of me. From the replay, it looked like there might have been enough room for us both to get through T1, but I don’t think either of us were aware of the other’s position and contact was the result. Chalk it up as a racing incident.

Both Gay & I limped around the track and pitted for repairs. I came out in 4th place and Gay in 5th with a huge gap between us. On lap 5 I vulture 3rd place from Weatherbee and was slowly reeling in Ed. Once I caught up to him we spent several laps running nose-to-tail, until I made a mistake on lap 18 and fell 7 seconds behind. With only 2 laps to go, I had no chance of catching back up and settled for 3rd.

Looking forward to Mosport this Friday!

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1997 Talon TSi AWD
2008 EVO X MR